Tryptophan - Was on 300 mgs 5-HTP for about 1mo; coming off Opana's to Methadone-MY CHOICE - after 6

Yes-tried EVERY SSRI-"Most" made me Anxious - and they were for anxiety and panic attacks Plus I tried them all at least 2 times! The "only" one that worked - until all the side effects + 50 pounds weight gain-gone yrs ago! was TCA - Ludiomil - they don't make it anymore... Last one was Prozac... side effects got so bad had to stop-felt like a new person; only was on 20 mgs/did it Cold Turkey..Was changing from bedtime to daytime and Felt Great During The Day... That Night when I took it - I was Sick "As I had been Feeling For Soooooo Long" - I stopped it and that was the 2nd worst experience... I don't know what SSRI's do to the brain-read the med journals-I know what they're "supposed to do" - but WHY would starting out at 1/4 RDA give me such panic and anxiety? Happened w/Paxil, Zoloft, Prozac, Elavil was like a ladder - Up and Down all day, and on and on...

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I am getting OFF Everything - only will take my natural hormones if I need them-being tested right now by Endo Saliva, etc. Then that's it - only RX's for life saving..

I couldn't move; change docs - it's a nightmare... I'd rather be in pain and Have a Clear Head than be drugged... Plus the expense - Opana's were over 60,000$ in 1 yr! And w/supplements-especially trytophan-just noticed it's from Japan-don't even know if the co's still in existence... sad to say..Sorry for long run on... off for today - Thanks again!

Hi Mary: I was on Opana ER and Opana for 6 yrs at 360mgs and I dropped down to 280mgs at one time (having been on PRN pain meds for 20 years - which my DX's have increased - but what to do? Can't see myself taking pain meds 30 yrs from now and I refused to go up on more Opana's when the pain increased and broke through... My parents are 88 and 77 and my dad takes Lipitor off and on - Mom - nothing... Siblings - 5 - nothing - all 50+ yrs to 43 yrs...

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To Be Clear - I'm Not An Addict - Never Used Heroin OR Street Drugs - and I Would Not Recommend anyone using Methadone to Come Down From the Opana's on Methadone since you can only take about 120mgs/day - and I went down 75% (due to the problem with methadone and overdose - IT WAS HORRIFIC - I DON'T EVEN RECALL THAT MONTH + x Days! Although the research I did showed methadone overdose deaths were "primarily" due to the addition of alcohol and/or other drugs WITH Methadone... and I don't drink or use any other drugs besides Xanax for Panic/Anxiety Disorder - which all my Docs are aware of...

AND Therein lies the Problem! Never "lost" any "pills", or an "RX", or had to "come in early",failed any urine tests, etc. Thus I am On My Own w/This... Since Methadone was initially used for World War II Soldiers in the Field when we ran low on morphine, they had to find a use for it after the War - and they did - for HEROIN users. But after what I've been through - Heroin is Not The Same - even ACTIVE INGREDIENT WISE - as Oxymorphone HCI (Opana's) - so Again I Don't Recommend it for Getting Off OR Tapering Down. The Opana's have MANY mg's and it would have taken longer - but would have been easier... why "Every Doc" thought it would work, I don't know; they ALL acted "surprised" I ran into so much trouble! Wait until they read the Endo Tests... I do know that if I cut the Opana in 1/2 it would have been 40 pills/day and I rec'd 12 pills/day...

Opana ER and Opana (immediate release) are 2 times as strong as methadonel 2 times as strong as Oxycontin and ??? much stronger than Heroin? Don't know - every movie I've seen someone where someone sticks a needle in their arm, off they go into sleepy land! Who would want a drug like that? I don't know any "Addicts" or I would have asked them instead of posting my life's story on the board asking about L-TRYTOPHAN...

In the Hospitals, it's the same w/Demerol - (NOT Dilaudid) but people love it - To Each Their Own - They Can Have Them - I've Had Enough and I Have Legitimate Chronic Pain Problems that operations cannot fix - they haven't come that far and I would need more than 1...

Methadone does not put me to sleep... Have not even considered or begun to consider taper off - This is First Time I feel and am thinking clearly - though from Jan to April - sure took awhile; and my body is still recovering... I sure didn't need to run into 5HTP - when I could have just used Xanax during the time I was going through the medication change/taper. As the top Docs explained using extra Xanax during Withdrawal will NOT make you increase your intake - AFTER withdrawal - and they were correct. I have not had to take extra Xanax following the point where the HTP began to wear 'thin' - just LOADS OF ANXIETY...

My Panic Attacks decreased once I got OFF 5HTP - so today is Day 3 HURRAY - and I am NOT EVEN CONSIDERING L-Trytophan! #1 made in Japan = is co still there? #2 has more warnings on that than 5HTP. Even if I have another week of so to go with increased ANXIETY and ANGER EPISODES - I'm hanging in there - it'll be out of my system the MFG of HTP said w/i 7 to 14 days max; and since I've tapered the 5htp down to about 12 hours 3-4 times/week - should be any day now... as it is only an 8 hour pill...
HERE'S HOPING!